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Alan Wilson observes Children’s Advocacy Day at Silent Tears event

SC Attorney General holds news conference on Children’s Advocacy Day

South Carolina’s top prosecutor is drawing attention to the needs of the state’s children. Attorney General Alan Wilson is observing 2015 Children’s Advocacy Day with a news conference on Tuesday in the Statehouse lobby.

Children’s Advocacy Day is sponsored by the South Carolina Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers and Silent Tears. Alan Wilson says the network provides specialized training, technical assistance and support services to Children’s Advocacy Centers and other community partners

WINONA, Minn. (WEAU) — Children depend on adults as they grow up, and this week, those who work in the child protection field are learning about how to be there for children in some of the worst situations. People from around the country are at the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University for a three day class.

A new study released Tuesday suggests South Carolina take a number of steps to improve its response to child sexual abuse.

The 336-page report, unveiled at a Greenville press conference, recommends the state take such steps as improving training and expanding education for frontline child protection professionals.

“One day God just came to us and told us to get involved, and we did,” said Greenville businessman and GOP donor Bob Castellani, founder of Silent Tears who, along with his wife Lisa, gave $250,000 last year to conduct the statewide assessment.

A new report, release Tuesday, details the investigation, treatment and prosecution of child sexual abuse in South Carolina.

“One day God just came to us and told us to get involved,” said Bob Castellani, founder of Silent Tears who along with his wife, Lisa, gave $250,000 last year to conduct the statewide assessment on Child Sexual Abuse in South Carolina. “And so we did.” Joining the Castellani’s were US Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Executive Director of the National Child Protection Training Center Victor Vieth.

Training and coordination are the keys to eradicating child sexual abuse, according to a report aimed at making South Carolina a leader in successfully resolving the thorny and difficult cases.

Victor Vieth of The National Child Protection Training Center conducted a year of research on child sexual abuse in South Carolina. He interviewed more than 160 people associated with child welfare and issued surveys based on interview information to an additional 400 professionals.

The View from the Trenches: Recommendations for Improving South Carolina’s Response to Child Sexual Abuse Based on Insights from Frontline Child Protection Professionals

Two years ago, community leaders and child protection professionals from South Carolina approached the National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) about conducting a large-scale study of the response of South Carolina systems to cases of child sexual abuse (CSA).

Child sexual abuse is not a comfortable topic for the dinner table. We shy away from it because of its complexities and the horrors of sexual abuse. However, our silence only makes the systemic and system-wide failures in addressing the problem even worse. Significant progress will require vision, leadership, communication, cooperation and coordination.

Child sexual abuse is not a comfortable topic for the dinner table. We shy away from it because of its complexities and the horrors of sexual abuse.

However, our silence only makes the systemic and systemwide failures in addressing the problem even worse. Significant progress will require vision, leadership, communication, cooperation and coordination.

Child sexual abuse is not a comfortable topic for the dinner table. We shy away from it because of its complexities and the horrors of sexual abuse.

However, our silence only makes the systemic and system-wide failures in addressing the problem even worse. Significant progress will require vision, leadership, communication, cooperation and coordination.

A Greenville couple, Bob and Lisa Castellani, recently donated $250,000 to commission the National Child Protection Training Center to do a comprehensive evaluation of the state of South Carolina on child sexual abuse victims and those who commit the crimes.

“Likewise, individual initiatives like that of Greenville businessman and philanthropist Bob and Lisa Castellani should be applauded. They have commissioned an assessment of every aspect of our current system under the not-for-profit Silent Tears, playing a significant role in mapping the road for change.”

Gov. Nikki Haley said today she was abused as a girl by a child-care provider, offering a rare, personal disclosure of her growing up meant to underscore the challenges any community faces in protecting its children.

“It doesn’t matter your background, it doesn’t matter your education, it doesn’t matter the wealth of your family,” Haley said. “Every child is subject to child abuse. And it was a day-care provider that was taking care of me.”

Haley described the abuse in her book Can’t Is Not an Option: My American Story.

But in Greenville, she said she was recounting what happened to illustrate that the threat is real, and any city and town must come to grips with that reality.

In the small town where she lived, her mother sensed something was wrong, Haley said.

“I never wanted to go,” Haley said. “But she didn’t know quite what it was and didn’t think anything of it.”

“One day I came home and I had a lot of bruises and a lot of issues,” Haley said.

When her mother confronted the couple taking care of her, “they packed up and they left,” Haley said. “We never got to deal with it.”

Haley spoke at a press conference at Greenville Health System, where community and health officials discussed a recent report, titled Silent Tears, that calls for child sex-abuse cases to be resolved more quickly.

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins, responsible for prosecution in Greenville and Pickens counties, has told GreenvilleOnline.com his office is dealing with an increasing number of cases involving criminal sexual conduct with children.

Wilkins said he wants more prosecutors to handle those cases and is urging more education and prevention, additional child-advocacy centers and training.

The Silent Tears report came out earlier this year and was the result of a yearlong review by the National Child Protection Training Center of child sex abuse in South Carolina. The report says coordination and training are key to successfully prosecuting child abuse cases.

The study found that most of those directly involved in handling child sexual abuse cases have no undergraduate or graduate training directly dealing with child abuse cases.

The report said that in many respects, the child-protection system in South Carolina is among the best in the nation.

Still, Haley issued a call to action in the Upstate, saying “When it happened to me, my parents didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know who to go to. No one knew how to handle it.”

“The world needs more couples like Bob and Lisa Castellani who do great things “just because.” Just because they want to give back.” Governor Nikki Haley

Haley in Greenville to discuss child abuse report

GREENVILLE — Gov. Nikki Haley is making a trip to Greenville to discuss a recent report on child abuse in South Carolina.

Her office says the Republican is joining with representatives from Greenville Health System on Monday to talk about Silent Tears.

The report came out earlier this year and was the result of a yearlong review by the National Child Protection Training Center of child sex abuse in South Carolina. The report was released in May and says coordination and training are key to successfully prosecuting child abuse cases.

The study found that most of those directly involved in handling child sexual abuse cases have no undergraduate or graduate training directly dealing with child abuse cases.

Statewide Needs Assessment

The Silent Tears Task Force is pleased to announce the 7 South Carolina Counties that have been selected for our Statewide Needs Assessment.

Greenville/ Spartanburg

Aiken

Richland

Dillon

Allendale

Charleston

These counties were selected based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, population, demographics, and geographic location. Victor Vieth and his team from the National Child Protection Training Center will visit each of these areas to speak with hundreds of front line professionals who work with children and families who are involved in child sexual abuse investigations. We will need your assistance in your area to reach out to as many of these individuals as possible. I will be contacting many of you to assist with coordinating these efforts. Thank you to each of you for your support and input thus far. I have attached a copy of the Silent Tears proposal in the event that you have not yet had a chance to read it. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or feedback. Many thanks again to Bob and Lisa Castellani for investing their time, talent, and treasure in this project. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us all.